Duchess of Cambridge celebrates 30th birthday

Updated 1728 GMT (0128 HKT) January 9, 2012

Duchess of Cambridge celebrates 30th birthday10 photos

Duchess celebrates 30th birthday – The Duchess of Cambridge, seen here with her husband, Prince William, celebrates her 30th birthday on January 9, 2012. The royal couple attended the star-studded UK premiere of "War Horse" in London on Sunday, March 8.

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Duchess of Cambridge celebrates 30th birthday10 photos

Duchess celebrates 30th birthday – Kate, the eldest of three children, grew up in a prosperous middle-class family; they lived in Amman, Jordan, for two years in the 1980s. A sporty child, Kate attended elite Marlborough College.

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Duchess of Cambridge celebrates 30th birthday10 photos

Duchess celebrates 30th birthday – After a gap year spent in Chile and Italy, she moved to Scotland to study History of Art at St Andrew's University.

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Duchess of Cambridge celebrates 30th birthday10 photos

Duchess celebrates 30th birthday – She met fellow student Prince William while taking part in a university fashion show. The couple are seen here on their graduation day in June 2005.

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Duchess of Cambridge celebrates 30th birthday10 photos

Duchess celebrates 30th birthday – After leaving university, she worked for her parents' party supplies company, and for fashion chain Jigsaw, but speculation about her future intensified when she attended Prince William's passing out parade at the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst, in December 2006.

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Duchess of Cambridge celebrates 30th birthday10 photos

Duchess celebrates 30th birthday – Kate became the subject of huge media attention -- she is seen here surrounded by photographers on her 25th birthday, January 9, 2007 -- but she and William broke up the same year.

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Duchess of Cambridge celebrates 30th birthday10 photos

Duchess celebrates 30th birthday – They rekindled their relationship shortly afterwards, and the couple's engagement was announced on November 16, 2010. Prince William is reported to have proposed during a holiday in Kenya.

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Duchess of Cambridge celebrates 30th birthday10 photos

Duchess celebrates 30th birthday – Prior to the royal wedding Kate took part in her first official public engagement, joining Prince William to launch a new lifeboat in Anglesey, north Wales.

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Duchess of Cambridge celebrates 30th birthday10 photos

Duchess celebrates 30th birthday – On April 29, 2011, thousands of people crowded into the streets of London, and millions more watched around the world, as the couple were married at Westminster Abbey.

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Duchess of Cambridge celebrates 30th birthday10 photos

Duchess celebrates 30th birthday – Weeks after the wedding, the Duke and Duchess took part in their first overseas tour, to Canada and the United States, where they were greeted like rock stars; they are expected to visit Southeast Asia in 2012 as part of the Queen's Diamond Jubilee celebrations.